On the same day that my German friend and I visited Amsterdam's royal palace,
the two of us and my American friend also went and checked out the
Beginjhof located just a few minutes' walk away. An enclosed courtyard
with some buildings dating back to the 14th century, it was a sanctuary
for a Catholic sisterhood whose members lived like nuns even though they
didn't take up those specific religious vows.

The
47 buildings that surround the courtyard are still occupied by single
women, many of them elderly -- and there are signs requesting that
visitors be quiet and refrain from taking photos while in the locale
(which also includes a "hidden church" and an English Reformed Church
which has been in existence since 1607). Unfortunately, few of the
visitors -- the majority of whom appeared to be European (rather than
misbehaving Mainland Chinese tourists!) -- that were there when my two
friends and I were in the area actually complied with those requests.

So
while I can imagine that the Beginjhof could be a serene place during
those times of the day when it's closed to the public, I get the
impression that its residents have had to reconcile themselves to their
residential area not being as much of an oasis of calm in the city as
they'd like during those times when that inner court area is open to the
public. I guess this is the not entirely unexpected downside of living
in very pleasant historic buildings located in the heart of a city
which attracts millions of tourists annually. Still, what a pity that
it has had to come to this!

Much
of the former Amstelhof has been converted into exhibition halls and
other spaces for the use of the Hermitage Amsterdam. But a few rooms
remain that serve as reminders of the buildings' former history as an
almshouse, including a large hall where the residents attended church
services but also had their meals, a kitchen located in the cellar
restored to give an idea of what it was like in the 18th century, and
the office of the governess (i.e., female head of the Amstelhof).

A few days later, when my German friend and I visited the nearby city of Haarlem, we came across another couple of hofjes. My Frommer's guidebook
states that "Amsterdam has many secret courtyards surrounded by
almshouses". But to judge from what we saw in Haarlem, there appear to
be a number of hofjes that are installed in far less secret locations in the Netherlands than the Beginjhof which I reckon lots of people would overlook or be unable to locate if not for the sign posts directing visitors to it!